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The EU must urgently ramp up its efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions

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Category: Press Releases

Published: 26 October 2018

Preliminary estimates published today in the European Environment Agency (EEA)’s annual ‘trends and projections’ assessments show a 0.6% emissions increase in 2017 from 2016. IPCC scientists have made a call for bold and faster climate action to limit global warming to 1.5°C, and the EU must wake up now.

In reaction to the publication of the EEA’s report, Wendel Trio, Director of Climate Action Network (CAN) Europe said:"Today's report from the European Environment Agency should be a wake up call for the EU Member States, as Europe has failed to further reduce its polluting emissions three years in a row. It seems as if governments think the work is done now that they have adopted the Paris Agreement, but the opposite is true.”

“To massively reduce greenhouse gas emissions and comply with the Paris Agreement, climate action needs to be substantially accelerated. Ambitious measures need to be taken to phase out coal, end public subsidies to fossil fuels and accelerate support to renewable energy development and efforts to reduce energy waste. The development of long-term climate strategies and the National Energy and Climate Plans should be used to speed up the transition and ensure the EU embarks on a pathway that is compatible with keeping temperature below 1.5°C, as indicated by the recent IPCC report. For the EU such a pathway includes reaching net zero emissions by 2040."

Climate Action Network (CAN) Europe is Europe's leading NGO coalition fighting dangerous climate change. With over 150 member organisations from 35 European countries, representing over 1.700 NGOs and more than 40 million citizens, CAN Europe promotes sustainable climate, energy and development policies throughout Europe.